


Joyeux Anniversaire

by WafflesAndPancakes



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Happy Birthday Jules, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 13:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20098243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WafflesAndPancakes/pseuds/WafflesAndPancakes
Summary: It's the fourth time they have to celebrate alone. And still, they aren't truly alone.OrDan and Charles spend an evening at the Danube.





	Joyeux Anniversaire

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Jules.

It was not really his day. For God’s sake, the qualifying had been awful. Not even coming further than Q1, not even showing what he could do, it hurt his heart. It hurt his heart that it all had to happen on this stupid date. From the first second after waking up, after noticing which date it was, Daniel had only wanted to stay in bed, close his eyes and ignore reality. But he could not. He had a qualification to drive, he had to make his team proud. And still, fate was not with him.

He followed the rest of the race on a screen after having fulfilled his media duties, smiling slightly as Charles came in fourth. At least one of them had a great day. Knowing that Charles would still have some duties to fulfill, and he also had at least one briefing to go through, he took his mobile out of his pocket, sending a single message to the younger driver.

_“Down at the Danube, Liberty Bridge, eight o’clock. I’ll bring the wine.”_

He got an answer a few minutes later, making him smile even more.

_“I’ll bring the food, then.”_

~

Budapest was beautiful, and watching the sun go down over the city was even more beautiful. Everything looked romantic in a way, how it was bathed in the orange light, the water reflecting the sun, young people walking around nearby, on their way into the night, into the clubs of Budapest. They were young, full of energy, enjoying the relatively warm evening, wanting to make the best out of a Saturday night. The boy in front him should belong to them, maybe not party that much because of their race tomorrow, but he should be happy too, he should be smiling, laughing, dancing. Instead, he was sitting on the cold stones, staring at the water with a sad expression.

They both missed Jules, every day, they did not have to tell each other that. They could see it in each other’s eyes, they could sense it when they were together. A bit of Jules was always around them. It was as if he was watching over them at every race, like the guardian angel he had always been. They had promised to never forget him when they stood at his grave, tears running down their cheeks and hitting the floor. They would never forget an amazing human being like Jules. It was impossible.

Charles had changed since Jules’ death, Dan had noticed it. He tried to be happy, he tried to not show his weakness to the media, to the fans, but Dan knew him well enough to look through the facade. Charles was hurting day by day, but the will to keep up Jules’ dream, to fulfill the dream they shared, it kept the younger man alive. He wanted to make Jules proud, the man had given him so much and it was the only way to pay him back. Concluding his work. Bringing it to the end, ending it the way it should have ended: On a Ferrari seat.

“What did you bring to eat?”

The question was irrelevant, they both knew the question nonetheless. They had been doing this for four years now, meeting every time on that exact date, eating the same food, drinking the same wine, telling the same old, boring stories. No, they were not boring. They were exciting. Because they were about Jules. Nothing about Jules would be boring, Jules was not a boring person.

“His favorite cake. Did you bring candles?”

“Of course I did.”

Charles smiled slightly, unpacking the cake and putting it in between them. Dan took out the candles, weighing them in his head, feeling how his eyes started to get watery. A three and a zero.

“Crazy that we the last birthday we all celebrated together was five years ago…”

He looked up and saw how tears ran down Charles’ cheeks, the younger one biting his lip as he nodded, before shaking his head with a sad smile.

“No, it wasn’t. We celebrated the last birthdays together, too.”

“You’re right. He will always be around.”

Slowly, he placed the candles in the middle of the cake, taking out a lighter to light them. Their eyes were bound to the flames, how they danced, how they illuminated their surroundings which got darker and darker. Dan felt the lines the tears had left on his cheeks dry, a weird calmness falling over his body. The same kind of calmness he had felt around Jules.

“Joyeux Anniversaire… Joyeux Anniversaire… Joyeux Anniversaire cher Jules… Joyeux Anniversaire.”

Silence fell among them as they watched the candles burn down. Normally, Charles would have laughed at Dan’s terrible french, but now the Monegasque was silent, his lower lip shaking as he tried to hold back quiet sobs. Dan held out his hand, pulling Charles into a tight hug, burying his face in the younger man’s hair, wetting the soft hair with his tears as Charles’ tears drenched his shirt. They held each other tightly, not saying a single word for a long time.

It was Charles who was the first to move, somehow escaping Dan’s arms to grab the bottle of wine next to them. He eyed the two cups that the older driver had brought, shaking his head as he took the corkscrew, opening the bottle before drinking straight out of it. Dan smiled, taking the bottle from him to drink from it too.

“How classy, Charles.”

“Classy enough for you, I guess.”

Dan bit his lip, taking another sip from the bottle before handing it back to the Ferrari driver. It was Jules’ favorite wine, something soft but yet strong. It actually was a lot like Jules himself. Soft yet strong.

The candles had burned down, the bottle of wine was now empty, the cake was not even half-eaten when they packed their things, Charles clearly having more troubles walking straight has he normally did not drink. In fact, he only got drunk three times a year. Dan drank more, either for fun or to drown his dark thoughts, trying to forget. Forget the pictures of the crash, of the funeral, of Jules in that goddamn hospital, his slim body laying in that big, white bed, looking kind of lost, so innocent and vulnerable. He knew he would never truly forget that image, but when he was drunk, he forgot it for a while.

They had to cross the Liberty Bridge to go back to their hotel, and as they walked past, Charles holding tightly onto Dan’s arm, the older one looked up into the sky, smiling as a shooting star fell across the sky.

“You know what, Charles?”

The younger one did not react a lot, only lifting his head a bit, a ‘mh?’ coming from his lips. Dan looked down again and pressed a soft kiss onto Charles’ temple.

“Jules would be proud of you.”

“You think so?”

“I know it, little one.”


End file.
